Bethlem Royal Hospital Museum

 

 

 

Bridgeman is proud to represent the Bethlem Royal Hospital Museum for image licensing. 

 

Founded in 1967, the museum preserves the long history of Bethlem and its sister hospital, the Maudsley.

 

 

 

 

Objects displayed in the museum include the historical sculptures of Melancholia and Raving Madness by renowned sculptor Caius Cibber, which graced the gates of the 18th century hospital. The gallery's extensive and growing collection exhibits works by artists who have experienced mental distress, including art by Bethlem patients past and present.

 

 

 

 

Bethlem runs a small, artist-led gallery and workshop that encourages patients to experiment and collaborate in a safe, artistic environment. Art is seen as a means of facilitating recovery, or as a way of expressing the effects of mental health difficulties.

 

These poignant images offer invaluable insight for anyone wishing to explore the sensitive issues surrounding wellbeing and art, that cannot be communicated through words or documentary photography. 

 

 

 

 

Many works in Bethlem’s gallery were produced by professional artists whose mental health deteriorated later in their careers, including

 

- Richard Dadd, who was trained at the Royal Academy, London

 

- Charlotte Johnson, who depicted her experiences of therapy while staying at Maudsley hospital

 

- Bryan Charnley, who studied at art college before being hospitalised with schizophrenia at the age of 25

 

 

 

One of Bethlem’s most notorious artists is Louis Wain, best known for his drawings of cats.

 

Originally an art journalist, his whimsical cat images proved hugely popular from the 1880s onwards. In addition to feline subjects he also drew colourful landscapes, exotic nature scenes and, infrequently, dogs. 

 

Even after he was institutionalised, Wain continued to create works and hold exhibitions until his death.